COUNTY COURTHOUSE
The courtroom is still trapped in
an eerie type of deep-freeze as Claire
watches her lawyer rise to begin
presenting her case. Diane's
side of the argument -- Eric Westin's swaggering
confidence, the way he so casually depicted Claire's life as one that no
child should be forced to endure -- has been branded into Claire's consciousness.
Now it refuses to relent, seering into her as painfully as when he first
spoke and deepening its ugly scar.
"Your Honor," Jim Thompson begins,
with a calm collectedness that makes Claire grateful for his existence,
"Mr. Westin has painted a picture that, I agree, would be difficult to
disregard. However, I feel the need to take issue with much of what he
said."
Out of the corner of her eye, Claire
sees Diane shaking her head, as if pitying Claire and Jim for having to
resort to such a pathetic, last-ditch attempt at retaining custody of
Samantha.
Jim stands directly in front of Claire,
blocking her view of the judge. "Mr. Westin made it seem as though Mrs.
Fisher has consistently placed her own safety and that of her family out
of choice. Can she be blamed for the behavior of her father,
with whom
she chose to have limited contact in the years preceding his death? His
forced involvement in her life was not something that Mrs. Fisher could
control.
"Moreover, the circumstances that
led to Tim Fisher's
death occurred because of his wife's desire to protect
her family from the threat of two men whose actions continued to haunt
her and play a role in her life. Mr. Fisher placed himself in danger because
he did not want to see his wife in that position. If he had not done so,
perhaps Claire Fisher would have been the victim of the tragic circumstances
that took her husband's life."
The thought is one that Claire has
considered many times, and it gives her the same chill now as it always
does. Perhaps she was supposed to be the one on the pier on New Year's
Eve; perhaps she was supposed to meet her end that night. If she'd been
able to hide her mission from Tim for a few hours longer, then he never
would have been endangered ...
"It is true, as Mr. Westin said,
that Ms. Bishop's visits with Samantha have been free of any incidents
that would give the court reason to believe that she should not have full
custody of Samantha," Jim is saying as Claire emerges from the fog of thought.
"Of course, he failed to mention how Ms. Bishop conceived Samantha after
tricking Tim Fisher into sleeping with her while he was suffering from
amnesia. Nor was it mentioned that, while pregnant, Ms. Bishop climbed
out on a ledge at the King's Bay Metropolitan Hotel and threatened to hurl
herself off of it.
"And neither has the court been reminded
of the loving home life that the Fisher family offers Samantha," he continues.
"She is being raised along with Tim and Claire Fisher's son,
Travis, who
is just a year older than her. She has loving grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and a cousin. She is as much a part of the Fisher family as any other member
and has been since her birth.
"I ask of you, I beg of you," Jim
pleads with a sincerity that tweaks every one of Claire's already-raw nerves,
"do not devastate the Fisher family any more than it has been already,
and do not devastate Samantha by taking her away from the only real family
she has ever known."
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